Songwriter Carole King Gets Star On Hollywood ‘Walk Of Fame’

HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Singer-songwriter Carole King cemented her legacy as one of the world’s most prolific songwriters with her own star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame on Monday.

King, 70, wrote her first #1 hit “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” for the Shirelles in 1959 and went on to write several hit songs, including “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “It’s Too Late,” and “You’ve Got A Friend.”

She went on to team up with then-husband Gery Goffin to write such other classics of the 1960s including “The
Loco-Motion”; “Up on the Roof”; “Chains”; “One Fine Day”; “Hey Girl”;”I’m Into Something Good”; “Just Once in My Life”; and “Don’t Bring Me Down.”

But it was King’s “Tapestry” in 1971 that launched her in stardom after winning all three of the key Grammy Awards – Record, Rong and Album of the Year – as well as best female vocalist honors for King.

With more than 25 million units sold, Tapestry remained the best-selling album by a female artist for a quarter century, and King went on to amass three other platinum and seven gold albums.

King and Goffin were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and honored with their Lifetime Achievement Award in 1988. They were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 as songwriters and were honored by The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 2004.

The ceremony on Monday comes ahead of a star-studded benefit at the Dolby Theatre honoring King that will be co-hosted by Quincy Jones and Jack Nicholson and include performances by Alicia Keys, Amy Grant, Herb Alpert, John Legend, Katy Perry, Lani Hall, Darlene Love, Jesse McCartney and Vince Gill.